Speaking this month we have:
1st: Mary Fogarty – Colombia: from the Caribbean to the Magdalena and back again.
A trip full of colour and magic and unexpected challenges.
Mary started in Cartagena, with a rainbow of colours in every street, and then left the Caribbean behind to take the Toto Express – a small dodgy van, which left at 4am – to Mompox, on the magical Magdalena river. The Toto Express trundled along behind endless lines of trucks for hours of dark, but finally the sun came up and a green wonderworld emerged, culminating in Mompox, a fairytale place by the vast Magdalena, where the trees are full of iguanas and dugout boats turn up selling pineapples and papaya.
After hours of dreamy wonder spent by and on this magnificent river, there was another hairy journey back to the Caribbean … this time to Santa Marta, where the beach meets the port, and film crews are recruiting by the water’s edge.
Mary left this edgy city for Tayrona National Park, used by the infamous narcotraffickers for smuggling out their stuff in the 70s and 80s, and now one of the most beautiful natural paradises in the world. Warned to take mosquito cream and lots of water, no-one, however, suggested climbing shoes – and the route she was to take up the mountain to find an old indigenous site involved some HUGE rocks, where the only way up was to use the ropes – in Clarks sandals this proved to be quite the challenge, but she got there!
2nd: Andy Skillen – Walking with bears: on foot adventures with polars and grizzlies
Andy has spent much of his career flat on his face in the mud, snow, water and, well anything else that happens to be there, to bring the world unique images of grizzly and polar bears…on foot. As one of just 4 photographers worldwide to take people to see arctic giants on their terms, as well as frequenting a whole host of ‘off the beaten track’ brown bear locations, Andy has a unique take on what it is to work with and photograph these icons of the wilderness. Join us in the auditorium and hear of some of the more hair-raising encounters that Andy has gone through in his pursuit of recording ursine behaviour…
Biography:
Andy Skillen is a multi-award-winning wildlife photographer who has documented the natural world for 25 years. Published on a global basis, much of his workload is on specific projects for the world’s leading organisations. In addition, Andy supplies a limited edition, fine art collection with his work is exhibited in galleries in the UK and overseas and also undertakes private commissions for collectors worldwide. As well as the artistic side, Andy also leads groups on specialist photographic adventures in Africa, South America and the Arctic, and is one of only four photographers worldwide to lead polar bear safaris on foot. Andy is also on the judging panel for a number of photo competitions and a regular speaker and panelist for National Geographic Traveller in the UK, as well as being a fixture on the speaking and after-dinner circuit.
For Andy, the power of photography has also been about the communication of the conservation message, and his collections are inspired by that rationale.
Find out more at:
- WEBSITE: http://WWW.FAUNAVISTA.COM
- INSTAGRAM: @andyskillenphoto
- FACEBOOK: andyskillenphotography
Admission costs, we charge a small cash fee of £3 for Globetrotters members and £6 for non-members on the door to cover our expenses, tea/coffee and biscuits are included free in the interval between the talks.
You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting between 45 – 60 minutes.
London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.
There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September. If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here